While oozing southward in a U.S. 51 traffic jam Sunday afternoon north of Wausau, I enviously watched the free-flowing northbound vehicles.

I wasn’t jealous of their 70 mph speeds. No, I just wanted to turn around and join all those vacationers rigged for multipurpose fun. Besides towing ATV trailers, fishing boats and pop-up campers, their SUVs were carrying canoes, bicycles, paddleboards and one-person kayaks. In fact, most carried some combination of all those recreational items.

And that’s just what I could see tied, lashed, strapped, buckled or hitched to their Escapes and Outbacks. I assumed their tents, coolers, helmets, binoculars, golf clubs, fishing rods and sundry other gear were safely stuffed inside their vehicles and beneath their flapping boat covers.

That northbound caravan of fun put an exclamation point on a seminar I attended the previous day in Eagle River during the Wisconsin Outdoor Communicators Association’s annual conference at Trees for Tomorrow. The seminar examined how Northwoods tourism has changed the past 50 years from fishing-based vacations designed around dad, to trail-based vacations directed by mom.

“I read a survey awhile ago where they asked people ‘What brings you to the Northwoods?’ and fishing was No. 11 on the list,” said Leon “Buckshot” Anderson, who retired in 2012 after guiding fishermen for 60 years. “It's not hard to figure out the first 10 things. Just watch what people are doing. I used to know 30 guys in the Sayner and St. Germain area who had steady guiding work May through fall. That’s down to two or three guys.”

Dads still go fishing, of course, but they seldom stay on the water dawn to dusk. That’s because families no longer check into secluded resorts for a week to frolic and lounge on sandy beaches while Pop chases muskies and walleyes.

Nope. Most resorts featuring the all-inclusive “American Plan” have long been sold, and Dad’s usually back in camp by midmorning to go hiking, bicycling or paddling with his wife and kids. He ends the day fishing while Mom admires the sunset while striking yoga poses on a beach or atop a paddleboard. The kids? They’re watching movies or playing video games in the tent.

After three or four days of exploring rivers, lakes and trail systems with GPS and smartphone apps as their guides, these modern families repack the SUV and head home, their missions complete.

“People have changed to a lifestyle that’s more active and health-conscious,” said Cindy Burzinski, director of the Vilas County Tourism and Publicity office. “They still come here to fish, but fishing is now just one component of their stay. They throw it in with hiking, biking and camping.”

Northwoods communities are capitalizing on the lifestyle change. During the early 1990s, when Jeff Long was town chairman in Boulder Junction, he led the drive to build the county’s first paved hiking and bicycling trails. This trail system now covers 47 miles and connects Boulder Junction, Manitowish Waters, Star Lake, Sayner and St. Germain. It will soon connect to the Mercer area’s trails in Iron County. Meanwhile, unpaved trails for mountain bikes and fat-tire bikes keep pushing into more remote areas across the Northwoods.

“Biking’s ‘overnight success’ took about 22 years to get going,” Long said. “The paddling craze took off much faster because it requires no infrastructure. The lakes and rivers are all here already. We once thought we needed fishing to get people into the boat, but now they just paddle around for the sake of health and paddling around. And we say, ‘thank you.’ All we had to do was let more people know what’s here and help them find it.”

That effort includes a comprehensive fold-out Silent Sports Trail Map (vilas.org) that shows more than 60 foot/bike trails and six canoe trips. Further, a smartphone app called “Map It Vilas Co.” helps guide visitors step by step along the trails with GPS coordinates, which work even without a cellphone signal.

“The trails up here go through absolutely gorgeous country, but many people hesitated to explore the trails because they’re afraid to get lost,” Burzinski said. “Our app lists all of our trails, and it ‘filters’ them for whether you want to bike, hike, snowshoe, cross-country ski or ride a horse. You’ll know where you are, how far you’ve gone, and how far it is to your destination. The app’s been a huge success. When we first got all the maps in, we had 7,000 (downloads) in five weeks. It was a real need. We were fortunate enough to find it.”

Where do all these hikers, bicyclists, runners and paddlers stay at night, given that most resorts have disappeared? Campgrounds have filled the void. Some sites accommodate more people each night than 900-plus towns like Boulder Junction.

But folks who still prefer the all-inclusive vacation aren’t forgotten, thanks to Dick Mendham and his family. They’ve owned the Sunrise Lodge on Lac Vieux Desert since 1968, and still advertise the “American Plan” approach.

Even so, the Mendhams work harder than ever to offer a diverse menu for dining and recreation. This includes tubing, canoeing, fishing, paddle-boating, soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball and outdoor chess.

Outdoor chess? Yep. The Mendhams bought a set of 3-foot chess pieces that are “heavy enough not to blow away,” Mendham said. They also built an 8x8-foot outdoor chess board from 12x12-inch colored patio blocks, and guests love it.

“I assumed our older guests would be the ones using it, but it’s the kids,” Mendham said. “Schools everywhere are teaching kids to play chess. Most games only last a half-hour or so, but some go on for hours.”

Still, many guests find time to fish. In fact, one of the lodge’s most successful anglers last week used one of its four paddle-boats to reach his hotspot.

That shouldn’t be too surprising. Fishing might not be the only game in the Northwoods anymore, but it’s impossible to imagine summer vacations without it.

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Dick Mendham(Photo: Patrick Durkin/For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Patrick Durkin is a freelance writer who covers outdoors for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Email him at patrickdurkin56@gmail.com.